International 3 Day Novel Contest: Do You Have What it Takes?

A three day novel contest?! Yes, you read correctly - or, more accurately, the "3 Day Novel Contest": Canada's infamous international novel writing contest, which each Labor Day weekend pits hundreds of writers from around the world against each other in a 72 hour faceoff to decide who will win the grand prize: a guaranteed book deal from 3-Day Books publishers.

The self-proclaimed "World's Most Notorious Literary Marathon" began, like nearly all great ideas, as a drunken dare in a musky bar somewhere in Vancouver, but after two straight years with no winner, the 3 day novel writing contest finally became a reality with the 1979 publishing of Tom Walmsley's Dr. Tin. Since then, the ranks of challengers have grown steadily. Today, the novel writing event boasts an average of between four and five hundred competing writers each Labor Day weekend.

The small presses responsible for publishing the winners have changed hands several times over the years, but in spite of numerous financial setbacks, the 3 Day Novel Contest is still going strong, even garnering national attention in the form of a reality TV show hosted by Canadian network Book Television (3daynovel.com).

To date, the International 3 Day Novel Contest has produced "dozens of published novels, thousands of first drafts," and "countless good ideas," (3daynovel.com) boasting a truly one-of-a-kind creative atmosphere by dropping writers from all different walks of life and parts of the world into an intense, 72 hour pressure cooker of novel-writing madness every Labor Day weekend.

Each 3 day novel is written on the "honor system," and can be written anywhere in the world, about anything and in any genre. Ideas and rough outlines are allowed before the contest starts, but actual writing of the novel is not allowed to start until 12:01AM on Saturday, and must end by 11:59PM on Monday night. There are no set page limits, but the novels average over 100 pages, single-spaced, and writers are allowed to collaborate to split up the workload.

Writing a Novel: the Difficult Charm of the 3 Day Novel Contest

Most creative writers who have ever even thought of writing a novel probably get goose bumps just reading about this. Since the late 18^th century, novel writing has stayed stubbornly fixed in many writers' minds as a psychological endurance trial, sort of like playing Russian Roulette one-on-one against your own hopes and dreams. And not without good reason - writing a novel can be one of the most satisfying, fulfilling, and important steps in a young writer's career, but it's also a serious undertaking for even the most efficient and prolific fiction writers.

For many writers, the experience can be extremely taxing and nerve-racking, to say the least, but on the other hand, maybe there is some raw appeal to this kind of literary trial-by-fire, or, as the editors like to call it, a "trial-by-deadline" (3daynovel.com).

Writer's block is a curse all writers are familiar with, but everyone deals with it differently. Some writers just flat-out hate deadlines like poison and can't function under them, while others actually prefer the squeeze the pressure puts on their thought process, forcing them to let go of all the expectations and anxieties that normally hold back their full creative potential.

Entering the 3 Day Novel Contest

Ever considered writing a novel? With Labor Day weekend just around the corner, this year's 32^nd Annual International 3 Day Novel Contest is coming up fast (September 5-7), so now's your chance! To enter, you need to pay a $50 entry fee, and provide a signed "witness statement" to prove you're following all the rules, so keep friends or family handy to vouch for you. Second place winners receive $500, third place $100, but more importantly, most participants swear by the 3 Day Novel Contest as a life-changing experience and amazing challenge - many even go on to have their own 72 hour manuscripts published independently. Think you have what it takes to be a three day Novelist? Sign up today!